Iqra12 months ago

'Toxic squash syndrome

A bitter drink sent a woman into shock, a life-threatening condition where blood flow in the body plummets and organs can be injured from lack of oxygen. She'd made the drink from pureed bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria), a light-green, normally mild fruit. However, the fruit naturally produces bitter-tasting chemicals called cucurbitacins, which can have toxic effects if consumed in large enough quantities; commercially grown bottle gourds tend to be low in cucurbitacins, but in this case, the plant had accumulated a large amount.